When longtime Hawaii resident Henry Soares and wife Charlotte journeyed to Las Vegas in May 2018 to visit their grandson, they never imagined health problems and the coronavirus would turn their two-week trip into a two-year ordeal.
Two years later they remain stranded in Las Vegas, with Mr. Soares too sick to fly commercially.
Desperate to get them home, their family has established a GoFundMe page to underwrite the cost of a special, high-tech medical flight that could be Henry's only hope of returning to his native Hawaii.
As of Wednesday evening, their campaign had raised nearly $14,000 of $65,000 required to make the trip.
The Soares' living nightmare began with a joyful trip to see their grandson in Las Vegas in 2018. Not long after arriving there, Soares' health took a serious turn for the worse.
He was diagnosed with severe, aggravated COPD that required an extended hospital stay, and was too sick to fly back home.
Instead, he remained in Las Vegas and was soon diagnosed with congestive heart failure as well. His other health problems include deep vein thrombosis, hypertension, kidney injury, and chronic edema, among illnesses. He relies on a high volume of oxygen to survive.
With Henry unable to fly home commercially, the family instead booked him on an April cruise back to Hawaii. But that sailing was canceled due to the coronavirus – and by then, the family had an understandable fear of putting the 76-year-old man on a cruise ship anyway.
Daughter Monica Soares refused to give up the fight, however. She discovered a company, Angel MedFlight, an air ambulance service that specializes in the transportation of extremely vulnerable patients. To her great relief, she learned Angel MedFlight would be able to get her father back home.
There was one problem, however: The cost of that flight, with extensive medical equipment onboard as well as medical professionals in constant attendance, would be exorbitant – about $65,000.
That is when she decided to launch the GoFundMe page. The way she sees it, every dollar that is donated brings her father an important step closer to finally getting back to Hawaii.
"He has a lot that he wants to do," Monica Soares said, "and he feels like his time is very limited. He knows his organs are failing, and he doesn't want to die there."
The husband and wife long to return to their home in Kamuela to once again breathe the air of their native Hawaii. They also long to see their five daughters, 10 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. Big Island Now reports they have never had a chance to meet two of those great-grandchildren.
Monica Soares tells Newsmax her heart overflows when she thinks of the kind souls moved to contribute any amount to the fundraising campaign that she is praying will finally get her father back home.
"My father said that maybe this too is happening for a reason," daughter Monica said. "At a time when there's so much negative going on in the world, maybe his story is showing that there are still good people out there.
"There are people that don't even know my father who have donated money to get him home," she added. "He's so thankful. There are still so many good people out there in this crazy world we live in."
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